1. Field of Invention
The present invention generally relates to a holding device. More particularly, the present relates to a holding device for eyeglasses that can be attached to clothing, such as a shirt pocket, clothing accessories, such as waist belts or purse straps, and flat surfaces, such as automobile visors.
2. Description of Prior Art
Many people have poor vision requiring them to wear eyeglasses or spectacles. For these people it is frequently convenient to take their eyeglasses off and place them in a pocket. This is particularly true for those who are required by law to wear prescription eyeglasses while operating a vehicle but prefer to take them off and carry them when no longer operating the vehicle. Also, people generally pay high prices for designer sunglasses and prescription eyeglasses and then are forced to hide them in a pocket or in a purse when not in use. Lastly, people wearing sunglasses frequently take them off once indoors or leave them inside the automobile while not driving.
Whether putting one's primary eyeglasses, a pair of sunglasses, or extra glasses in a pocket is convenient; there are associated problems. The most obvious problem is that if the glasses are not held securely in a shirt pocket, they will fall out and break. Further, it would be advantageous if the eyeglasses could be held in a selected position or location such as outside a shirt pocket, thereby increasing the ease of access, preventing them from moving around (particularly while engaged in sporting events), and still display the expensive appeal.
The problem identified in the preceding paragraph is well known, particularly to those who use eyeglasses of various sorts. Various types of eyeglass holders have been disclosed in the prior art purporting to solve the problem. In U.S. Pat. No. 305,185 to Hawkes an eyeglass case having a clothing fastening means attached thereto is shown. Cases, however, are extremely bulky for a wearer to carry. In U.S. Pat. No. 556,209, Quinn designed a combined pencil holder and clip that could also secure glasses. While this invention is an improvement from bulky cases, Quinn's invention has numerous problems expected from an invention not necessarily designed for glasses. First, Quinn's holder does not provide an area to preposition the temple pieces before inserting the glasses, so two hands are always needed to insert the glasses. Second, the prongs on the front plate must be large enough to hold a pencil. This increases the clearing distance needed from the nose piece of eyeglasses to the front plate when glasses are inserted thereby reducing the types of eyeglasses that can fit into the holder. Third, Quinn's holder specifies a pivotal connection on the upper end of the back plate. This design is a problem because it extends the entire design length of the holder and it increases the amount of strength needed by the pivot and the garment to hold the eyeglass clasp in a 90.degree. position to the garment clasp when the weight of glasses are held. As a result, the glasses will have a tendency to hang in a 45.degree. position when attached to a wearer. Fourth, both the clasp for the eyeglasses and the clasp for the garment are positioned opposite of each other in a manner such that the direction of force to open both of the clasps is also opposite of each other. If a wearer attaches the holder onto their garment, then presses one clasp to insert their glasses, the same force can also open the garment clasp as it rests against the wearer causing the holder and the glasses to fall with subsequent damage to the glasses. Lastly, the prongs to hold pencils can scratch the glass lenses. A wearer with a holder designed for eyeglass holder should not encounter all these serious problems when storing their glasses.
Other configurations were developed to hold eyeglasses such as holders that engage the bridge of a pair of eyeglasses. Exemplary of this type of eyeglass holders are U.S. Pat. No. 727,204 to Rogers: U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 12,771 to Dripps; U.S. Pat. No. 2,637,080 to Nemser; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,876,513 to McIntosh. Eyeglass holders substantially formed from wire frame members have also been disclosed in prior art. U.S. Pat. No. 171,681 to Meyer discloses a wire frame having paired clamp hooks which engage the lens frames of the eyeglasses. U.S. Pat. No. 730,633 to Jordan discloses an eyeglass holder having a bent hook attached to a hairpin. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,956,795 to Kosakai an ornamental brooch having a slidably mounted wire frame attached to the rear surface of the brooch and extending downwardly for receipt of the temples of eyeglasses is shown. A curved wire frame eyeglass holder having end loops that engage the temples of eyeglasses is disclosed in U.S. Pat No. 4,458,384, to Arnold. A further example of the prior art is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,818,621 to Pretz where an eyeglass holder having a tubular member pivotally disposed below an ornamental pin for receipt of the temple of eyeglasses is disclosed. A large case opened by releasing a center latch arm is disclosed in Kamerer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,715,575. However, unlike Hawkes case which is designed to wear on a garment, Kamerer's case is much bulkier and designed to attach to a "support structure such as the instrument panel of a car or boat or sunvisor of a car for storage of the eyeglasses when not in use." Kamerer's holder isn't designed for temporary holding such as walking in and out of stores while shopping and temporarily attaching and removing sunglasses or eyeglasses to a garment. Eyeglass holders that engage the temple of an eyeglass by means of a moveable grip and a stationary grip are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,771,515 to Guarro. An eyeglass holder having a vertical transverse cross-section holding means to engage one temple piece is disclosed in U.S. Pat No. 5,033,612 to Bivins. Eyeglasses held by only one temple piece can easily flap up and down, especially while walking at a brisk pace, causing damage to the temple piece. Eyeglass holders with an actuating clamp to engage a temple piece is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,098 to McDaniels. Wisniewski attempts designing eyeglass holders in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,949,432 and 5,408,728 that could engage both temple bars. However, these designs have several serious problems. The gap where the temple pieces are inserted cannot be pressed open prior to inserting the temple pieces. Rather the temple pieces must be forced into the holder which not only can wear down the expensive temple pieces, but also can wear out the effectiveness of the holding plates. Worse yet, the wearer has to attempt the complex contortion of reaching around the holder for leverage on one end while trying to push through the eyeglass temples into the other end and, very possibly only succeeding in pushing the holder out of the garment. The situation worsens with eyeglasses that have temple pieces located midway between the lenses.
More recently, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,491,878, Janouschek introduces a holder that clamps the lens frames of glasses acting more like a semi-versatile version of the bulky case. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,661, Seach introduces another one-temple holding clip reverting back to the same problems mentioned in the preceding paragraph about Bivins' holder.
Objects and Advantages
As can be seen from the foregoing, numerous devices have been considered to provide means for temporarily holding a pair of eyeglasses to clothing and the like. However, these devices of the prior art do not provide the advantages of the present invention. For an eyeglass holder to be most effective during almost any activity, it must be capable of simultaneously securing both temple pieces to prevent flapping of the eyeglasses which can damage the temple hinges while still engaged by the eyeglass holder. The holder should have a flat-like or bent-in area to preposition the temple bars before opening the holder. This feature makes it possible for inserting eyeglasses without looking down at the holder. A prepositioning area makes it possible to insert glasses with one hand. Additionally, the gap for receiving the temple pieces should easily widen by simply pressing on the front plate prior to receiving the temple clips, and without obstructions such as jutting pencil claws, to facilitate insertion. Additionally, when depressing the holder to open it, the wearer should not have to worry about opening the garment fastener also, and dropping the holder. Securing both temple pieces should further prevent slipping out from the holder which can break the glasses. The eyeglass holder should be capable of receiving and securing a variety of eyeglass sizes and styles with minimal effort by the wearer without rejecting styles simply because of the distance between their temple bars and nose pieces. The eyeglass holder desirably should be easily and securely rotational to increase the variety of placement positions of the eyeglass holder. If it rotates, the holder should have proper balancing so the glasses hang appropriately on the garment. Since the wearer usually displays the eyeglass holder, it should provide an aesthetic appeal such as jewelry, and desirably, a means for changing the eyeglass holders' appearance as the wearers clothes and jewelry change. The eyeglass holder also should be inexpensive to manufacture. All these requirements are the objects and advantages fulfilled by the eyeglass holder of the present invention. Further advantages of the invention will become apparent from a consideration of the drawings and ensuing description.